In May 2025 I had the pleasure of working with Saltmen Productions again, following on from our collaboration for Missed Contact which centered around a 1960s first contact story gone wrong!
Our latest collaboration took the form of Vajra. This was Saltmen Productions’ newest film, this time focusing on the superhero genre, but with a twist – it is deeply rooted in Indian culture and has a strong focus on Mental Health. Vajra brings a unique perspective to the table, honing in on what it means to be a hero with the pressure and weight of the world on your shoulders.
With this film, we decided to create a score deeply steeped in Indian music culture, while retaining some western aspects – this way we represented how proud Vajra is of his heritage, while rooting him in his home of South East London.
We experimented with instrumental sounds from North Indian Folk music, including: Thudumu, Tappeta, Gullu, Dappu, Parai and Tamte.
You can hear these baked into the percussive lines running throughout the score, making them fused into the DNA of Vajra himself. Alongside this, a Sitar was lightly used throughout, often mirroring the strings or brass lines, for the same reason.
In terms of Vajra’s theme… this was something that I needed to get right, as the main musical motif for the film. I opted to create a theme in 2 parts, one with an ascending motif, and one with a descending motif. This was to seed in the minds of the viewer, that this isn’t your typical superhero and whilst he is a hero celebrated by his city, he also has a darker and more affected side, which this film delves into.
Best Film Award:
In June 2025, Vajra took to the festival scene and was lucky enough to have been awarded Best Film at the 2025 GRAFTAS! Later the same month the film was selected to be shown at the New Lights Festival in Greenwich, London.
I cannot thank the team at Saltmen Productions enough, for bringing me onboard this incredible project and for trusting me with their amazing character and world-building.
Can I just take a moment here to say… WOAH… look at the EPIC suit the props team created for Vajra! SO cool!
The score and film will be released soon!
Instagram: @vajra_film
